This is the third post in a three part series of how I am organizing my Elf on the Shelf for this holiday season. If you missed the other posts, you can find them by clicking here… Introduction and Round-Up.

You may have noticed I have not tried to think of new things to do with Elfred, our sweet little Elf on the Shelf. That’s because there are so many out there, I don’t need to spend any of my time re-inventing the wheel. That’s why I did the second post as a round-up of all the Elf on the Shelf ideas. Now I’m guiding you through the steps of easing the elf stress…(yes, that is definitely a first world problem!).

Calendar

The first thing you need to get is a calendar that includes the days you are planning on having your elf stay at your house. I am planning on starting the Monday after Thanksgiving…that’s just a week away!! It’s proving difficult to find a one page calendar that includes parts of November and most of December. So I created one that works for my time frame!

After printing my calendar, I sat down and noted all of the things our family already has going on during this time. Some of things I had to consider were wrestling practice for the boys on Tuesdays and Thursdays, a band concert for our daughter, a cotillion dinner and dance, traveling for the holidays, class parties at school, etc. You may be thinking, “How does that effect your elf on the shelf?” These things take my energy during the day, and I need to consider how much energy my elf plans will take that evening.

Other things I made sure to think about was if the idea had something for my kiddos to do (like building the elf sled). If they needed to do an activity with what the elf left, I made sure to plan to leave that on a weekend night so my kids could spend the next morning doing it. How terrible to have the elf suggest an activity that made the kids excited just to be rushed off to school without doing it!

Sorting and Planning

I wrote a list of every “elfscapade” I planned. I cut them apart and sorted them by types. The first sort was by difficulty level. Some of the ideas were easy to implement (such as the Spiderman mask) while other ideas were more complicated (the rock climbing adventure).

The list I made of all the Elfcapades

Next I took each difficulty level and put them on my calendar. I put easy ones on practice nights that we might go to bed late. I feel like these were things that I really could do and would have fun doing it.

The first sort I did. My categories were Easy, Medium, and Difficult

Then I further sorted them by what types of materials they needed. I had some that needed printables, some I had to make things for, while others really had no materials needed at all. This helped me get the things done ahead of time. One day I picked the printable stack, and I printed everything that I needed for those. The next day I chose the stack of things I needed to type such as the reindeer recipe. I one day I worked on the stack of more difficult things that I needed to create.

This is the easy category sorted into what I needed to do to prepare. The categories were Print, Gather, Make, and Nothing.

Organizing the Magic

As I got the things gathered and ready, I would put the items I needed in a gallon size Ziploc baggy. I labeled it with the title and the day I needed that stuff. I worked on each elfscapade over the course of a few days while my big kiddos were at school. Judah, my four year old, goes for a couple of hours each morning. So I had to use my time wisely so that I could get them all finished and put away before picking him up.

Each day has it’s own baggy. I just used a Sharpie to add the day to each one…not very cute, but super quick!

How It Works

Now here is what I have:

Calendar: so I can see what I’m doing each day.

28 baggies of items: these are the items I planned ahead so each evening I’m not rushing around gathering my crafting supplies.

Here are all of the baggies ready to be stashed away.

an overnight bag: this is where I’m storing all of the baggies until I need them. This bag is always in my closet and won’t cause any questions to arise. It also conceals what’s inside easily while allowing me quick access to what I need!

Here they are filed in my overnight bag.

Each evening I will grab the baggy I need, and let the magic do its thing! I am actually looking forward to seeing Elfred this year. I know he will bring the excitement of Christmas with him without driving me crazy!!

How are you getting ready for your Elf on the Shelf this year?? Share any ideas you have with us in the comments.

(If you don’t have an elf, I actually do recommend giving this holiday tradition some consideration. You can find yours here!)

This is the first post in a three part series of how I am organizing my Elf on the Shelf.

In Love

I don’t know about you, but I remember when I first saw The Elf on the Shelf. I was in love…absolutely thought it was the best idea ever! The excitement was so great I had one sent to our house directly from Santa Thanksgiving weekend. We arrived home from our travels and there sat a mysterious box. My kids were so excited!!! (I was probably more excited!) We opened it up…there he was…our magical elf!

We read the book (not a bad read the first few times through). We named him Elfred (gotta have that cutesy elf name, right?) And then the good times began.

Each night I would stay up and do the fun things we parents do with the elf. Our elf didn’t make many messes…we don’t need help with that! I had so much fun that first Christmas with Elfred, and so did my two sweet little kiddos.

Burned Out

Fast forward five years plus two more kids, and this momma is burned out…completely BURNED out! Last Christmas, Elfred just moved from place to place. He wasn’t having his usual good time. Don’t get me wrong, the magic didn’t disappear all at once. The antics became less elaborate and less often each Christmas season. But it really became apparent last year when there were days the poor guy didn’t move (whoops! I was pregnant and so tired…). I even advised another mom to NOT adopt an elf. It felt like a hundred more things to do, and I didn’t need any more on my proverbial plate.

But as I look back on that first Christmas, I can’t help but feel like I should rekindle my love for the little guy. My two younger kids need the magic too. Both of my boys are in the believing stage…my oldest daughter is on the gig and would often remind us to move it last year. And of course, the baby doesn’t know anything about it yet. I have many years of elfing left to do…so I decided to organize my elf on the shelf!

The Plan

This will be a three part series of posts of how I plan on loving the elf again!

About Me

I'm a disorganized, right-brained, momma of four! I am currently taking off a year from teaching elementary to stay home with my sweet kiddos! I have a goal to have my house running like a well-oiled machine when I return to work. Only one problem...I don't even know where to start. Follow me on my journey of learning how to organize every aspect of our lives. I am going to organize the house, our car, our meals, and our time while showing you the ups and downs of this creative mind all along the way. This will not just be highlights...expect to see our Real Life Reels!